We're One and the Same, You and I
by Inuyasha Armin Scarlet
Summary: Armin and Lucas may seem like complete opposites, but in reality, they are more compatible than anyone else.


"Lucas, what are you doing?! Wake up!"

The younger blonde slowly opened his eyes, his vision adjusting to the light. Once settled, he saw an annoyed Armin Arlert towering over him. Lucas gasped; he overslept for today's training.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up?!" The boy screamed, scrambling out of the bunk bed he shared with Armin and tumbling to the floor. In his haste, he temporarily forgotten that he slept on the top bunk. Armin shook his head, sitting cross-legged on the bed. He threw a pillow at Lucas, earning a whine from the boy.

"Ya know, you don't have the right to do that. The only reason Shadis isn't here threatening to kill you is because I volunteered to come and get you. Now hurry up and _get dressed_."

"Fine, fine, fine…" Lucas quickly took his night clothes off and changed into his training uniform, ignoring Armin's complaint of him not bothering to wash. He grabbed his equipment, fastening it to his waist. He turned to look at Armin, who was already standing at the door, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

"Lucas, are you going to stand there, looking at me with the same look Sasha gives meat, or are you going to come on? We're practicing hand-to-hand combat today, and I actually had to sit out and miss valuable training."

Lucas rolled his eyes, following Armin out of the barracks. "It's not like you're any good at anything physical," he stated, walking at a fast pace to keep up with Armin. "And besides, just because no one wanted to partner with you isn't my fault. Jean was either with Marco or Ike; Eren with Mikasa; Sasha and Connie; and Annie and Zelda probably refused to do the whole damn training anyway."

"Idiot," Armin said, walking faster just to torture the younger blonde, "it's not a matter of whether or not someone wanted to be my partner; it's a matter of we were one person short, and I couldn't get a partner. And the person was you." Armin stopped in his tracks, letting Lucas bump into him. He swiftly turned around, staring then fellow blonde down.

"In addition, you are no better physically than I am. To put in words you'll use: we both suck like hell."

"Ya know, Armin, when we first met, you were timid and optimistic, always keeping Eren out of stupid fights. Now you're just a blonde version of Jean and Ike. Where's the Armin we all know and love?"

"The first hint to the answer should've been the words 'when we first met', Lucas."

Lucas sighed as they turned the corner, seeing their fellow soldiers practicing. He could feel the evil, soul-shattering glare of Shadis upon him, and he didn't dare look in his direction, choosing to look at Connie and Sasha have an informative conversation about food.

"Don't think about slacking off, Lucas," Armin warned. Lucas faced him and noticed he had a wooden knife in his hand. "You're going first."

"We're both gonna fail," Lucas remarked, taking the knife from Armin. Armin backed a few paces, positioning himself in a battle ready stance. Lucas held the knife away from him and charged. Armin stuck out his foot and tripped Lucas, but the blonde counterattacked by grabbing his collar and pulling down, bringing Armin with him. The sound of laughter brought a flush to each of the boys' face.

"Arlert! I expect such damn idiocy from the idiot below you, but you, Arlert? Both of you are to run 50 laps!"

"50?" Lucas whined. "That's a lot!"

"Fine. Run laps for the rest of this day! NOW!"

Snickering bothered the older blonde as he pushed himself from Lucas, stomping away. Lucas sat up, his eyes meeting evil stares from both Eren and Mikasa.

"_You better make him feel alright again by the end of this day, or I'm beating the shit out of you,"_ Eren mouthed. Lucas nodded quickly, getting up and running in Armin's direction.

* * *

"Armin, talk. C'mon, I'm _tired_, and I know you're tired. I don't need you being mad at me."

Armin ignored him. Both of them had ran only five laps, and they already felt like dropping dead. They ran slowly, and the sun started to set. A deep orange hue painted the sky. Lucas just wanted to go eat some potatoes with Sasha.

"Armin Arlert! You will answer, or so help me God I will pounce on you!"

Armin snapped around, a look of anger on his face. "Listen, damnit! I'm tired, I'm annoyed, and I'm just overall pissed. Just leave me alone!"

"Hey, I'm trying to apologize here! You don't think I'm those things too?"

"Well, you obviously don't show it! Do you _understand _the situation we're in? We are training to risk our lives to defeat bloodthirsty giants and you don't seem to comprehend the gravity of the situation we're in! While you're being carefree, people have died and will continue to die!"

"Armin, I…" Lucas stopped, not knowing what to say. He stood and watched Armin start to cry, the tears streaming down his face to the ground.

"Listen, I know I haven't been acting like myself, but I'm _scared_, damnit. I'm scared and I'm weak and I feel worthless. Don't you ever feel like you've contributed nothing but burden here? Because that's how I feel, and I don't know how to stop feeling like that."

"Armin, buddy," Lucas said softly, placing a tender hand on his friend's shoulder. "I feel that way all the time. This is why we're the same."

"What?"

"We're one and the same, you and I. It's both the weaknesses and the strengths we share that allows us to keep each other going. I always have some sense of doubt about myself, but you know what? I try not to show it because as I long as I have you by my side, then everything will be alright. You're my friend, Armin; you are not alone. Do you feel like we're just, I don't know, peas in a pod or something like that?"

"Of course. Why do you think I tolerate you sleeping on the top bunk?"

"There's that sense of humor I love. Now, I really think we should finish a few more laps. It's getting dark, and I'm starving, but we need to pretend we did, like, 80 laps."

Armin chuckled. "He won't believe that, ya know."

"I know. But still, maybe he'll have some pity on the little weaklings."

"Yeah, maybe…Thank you, Lucas."

"No problem, Armin."

They gave each other a quick hug before starting their laps again, laughing along the way.


End file.
